SPONSORSHIP & PROMOTION
Nielsen released new data and insights today on women’s soccer leading into the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The Nielsen Women’s Football Report, a collaboration with Leaders, highlights where fan interest is gaining momentum and how commercial investments are growing.
Among the report highlights:
Interest in women’s football is 40% of the population in countries with teams competing in the 2019 Women’s World Cup, compared to 36% overall
Across 24 countries surveyed, 314 million are interested in women’s football
54% of women’s football fans around the world are male, 46% are female
63% of women’s football fans are under age 45
Record attendance for women’s football in Mexico, Spain, Italy and England in 2018 & 2019
Prize money has doubled since the last FIFA Women’s World Cup from $15 million in 2015 to $30 million in 2019
The Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum officially changed its name to Ring Central Coliseum on Monday. California communications firm Ring Central will pay $1M a year for the next three years to title the A's and Raiders' home, with an option to renew the deal for a fourth year.
IMG has announced its appointment as the exclusive global licensing representative for Bundesliga International, a subsidiary of the DFL association, which is internationally marketing the commercial rights of the Bundesliga. IMG has agreed a multi-year deal with the league, which is both the world’s best supported football league in terms of attendance, and the second biggest in terms of revenues. The partnership will see IMG and the Bundesliga develop an innovative licensing program designed to bring the league to consumers around the world in dynamic and engaging new ways, through a range of international distribution channels and high-quality product categories for men, women and children.
DIGITAL AND STREAMING
The Most Tweeted about stats from Sunday nights NBA Finals Game 2:
Player Accounts
- @StephenCurry30
- @KlayThompson
- @Andre
- @kawhileonard
- @boogiecousins
"Famous Fans" Accounts (people watching the game from the stands in Toronto)
- @BarackObama
- @ShawnMendes
- @Drake
Hashtags
- #NBAFinals
- #WeTheNorth
- #DubNation
For the first time since its 1997 debut, the Arnold Palmer Cup – a three-day Ryder Cup-style event featuring the world’s top men’s and women’s college golfers – will be live-streamed worldwide via GOLFChannel.com, Friday-Sunday, June 7-9 from The Alotian Club in Roland, Ark. Also, the Arnold Palmer Cup will introduce a new scholarship program to benefit students in its host communities.
The International Cricket Council is broadcasting World Cup content for the first time on social media platforms Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. The ICC’s Facebook pages will also have an exclusive preview show – ‘Openers’ – before each match and Watch Parties with commentators. On the ICC’s YouTube channel, in addition to short-form highlights minutes after the match, fans will also be offered ‘The Review’ – an exclusive post-match analysis show – as well as other video content. Ahead of the tournament, the ICC agreed a partnership with technology company ByteDance to deliver content across social media platforms TikTok and Helo.
FloSports closed on its Series C funding round with $47M raised to expand and enhance its streaming sports coverage. The round was led by current investor Discovery and included participation from fellow investors Causeway Media Partners, Fertitta Capital and DCM Ventures, as well as strategic investors WWE and Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments. Proceeds from the funding round will be used specifically toward continued investment in rights.
ESPORTS
The NBA 2K League announced that THE TICKET powered by AT&T, the league’s third and final tournament of the season, will take place Thursday, June 13 through Saturday, June 15 at The Fortress at Full Sail University in Orlando. All 21 NBA 2K League teams will be competing for a prize pool of $180,000. All games will be livestreamed on the NBA 2K League’s Twitch and YouTube Channels. THE TICKET is the NBA 2K League’s only tournament that guarantees the winner an automatic playoff spot. Last season, Knicks Gaming entered THE TICKET with a 3-6 regular-season record, and ultimately went on to win the tournament, qualify for the playoffs, and then win the 2018 (and first-ever) NBA 2K League championship.
Ferrari confirmed to compete in the upcoming third season of the Formula 1 New Balance Esports Series. It is the first time that all 10 Formula 1 teams have competed together in the esports series since its inception. Ferrari will join the following teams in the competition’s third season: Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport, Aston Martin Red Bull Racing, Alfa Romeo Racing, McLaren F1 Team, Rich Energy Haas F1 Team, Renault F1 Team, Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda, SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team, and ROKiT Williams Racing.
ROSTER MOVES
FC Cincinnati introduced Eredivisie club PEC Zwolle Technical Dir GERARD NIJKAMP as GM.
THE MAIN EVENT
Game 2 of the Women’s College World Series will be at 8:30 on ESPN.
